Do you love where you live?

I live in Norfolk and Friday was the very first #NorfolkDay and we celebrated it all over the county and what really came through was just how much people love Norfolk.

I absolutely love Norfolk, I have travelled the world, yet I love living in here, there is no better place in the UK, in my opinion, and my friends and I call it Gods own county… I think many people who love where they live do!

One thing I am certain of is that it is Nelson’s county and there is a famous quote from him saying ‘I am a Norfolk man and Glory in being so!’ – Horatio Nelson, which makes me very proud. I love the beaches, the open space and nature, our fine City of Norwich and so much more. Even though I love and appreciate just what I have here, I sometimes think about moving away, living in a different country and seeing what life would be like, do you ever feel like that?

Which brings me back to the question of do you love where you live? The reason I ask this, is because the environment in which we live can really influence how we feel. Have you ever noticed that you feel happier, freer or more relaxed in a certain environment? Whether that is in the city, the countryside, the seaside or anywhere in between, it doesn’t matter where it is, there is no right or wrong answer, it is what feels best for you.

So, let’s get back to thinking about where we live. The town I live in, Great Yarmouth, is a deprived sea side town, with lots of unemployment, poverty and crime, I don’t love that, it makes me sad and that is partly my motivation for founding Embrace. Some people judge when I say where I live, someone on twitter Friday night even made a rude comment about it to me, even though we were celebrating #NorfolkDay! Do you find people comment about where you live influencing how you feel about it? I find this difficult, because although there are many not so great things about where I live, nowhere is perfect and the thing is some people only focus on the negative… and I too could choose this…

However, I choose to focus on the positive, I choose to focus on the fact I can walk to the beach in 5 minutes, I can walk to the beautiful Norfolk Broads in 10 minutes, I can be in the countryside, in the middle of nature in no time at all. The town itself is full of history and quirky little things; the chips on the market (best chips in the world), the snails at Joyland, I can get the train into the fine city in 30 minutes, I always enjoy the beauty of the drive down the Acle Straight, the space and freedom this brings, the fact that when I go to the butchers on the market they welcome me by name… so I do love where I live, I love the little things, the things which I can appreciate every day, these little things make me happy…

What does that mean, why is it important? The reason I am writing this is because Friday seeing the love for Norfolk warmed my heart, there is so much to love and I feel proud to be from Norfolk and to celebrate this beautiful county. But more than that, it made me think about the importance of loving our environment, whether it be our home, our town or city, the escapes to the countryside or wherever it may be, appreciating the small things makes us feel better, this influences our mood our outlook and our motivation for life, which in turn impacts on work and our relationships.

Take a moment to sit quietly, close your eyes and notice the difference in how you feel when you think of a place you love or you think of a place you don’t love so much… what did you notice, I am guessing you felt very different. So I urge you every day to find something you love about where you live or where you are that day. Try taking a moment to do this every day, and see how it makes you feel . I would love to hear from you so do get in touch or comment below.